Karaoke King
by dS-Tiff
Summary: After Paige is contacted by an old friend she enters a karaoke contest with Walter. It happens, it really does, but not without a little help from the rest of the team. Contains Waige, a heavy dose of Paige and Toby's friendship, a touch of Quintis, a little drama and some comedy.
1. Chapter 1

_**This idea for this story came about after a conversation we had on Fan Forum. Thank you to all my new friends over there for letting me play with this. The story really took on a life of its own and didn't turn out anything like I imagined it would! I hope you like it, all comments are really appreciated. Thank you kindly.**_

CHAPTER 1.

"Of course we'll be there on Friday! Wouldn't miss it for the world." Paige sighed and clicked off the call before slamming her phone down onto her desk with more force than was necessary.

"Woah." It was a quiet evening in the garage and Toby had been watching Paige during the phone call. He couldn't resist commenting. "It's a good job Sly didn't have you under oath during that conversation. Who was that?"

Paige looked up at him. "I hate lying, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Was it that obvious?" she asked Paige.

"Only to me," grinned Toby.

Paige sighed again. "That was Rachel, an old school friend of mine. She was my best friend, actually. I haven't seen her for about eight years."

"And you don't want to see her now?" asked Toby. He wandered over to her desk and perched on the corner.

"No, it's not like that, not really," Paige tried to explain. "I do want to see her. She hasn't been home in such a long time. She's a singer, she's made quite a name for herself in New York, but her Mom hasn't been too well this year and she wanted to come back to LA."

"Understandable," noted Toby, folding his arms across his chest. "So what's happening on Friday that you told her you wouldn't miss for the world… except really you're hoping we get caught up in a crazy life threatening case instead?"

"She's opening a karaoke club and she's invited me to her opening night," answered Paige. "She's holding a contest to attract customers and she wants me to take part."

"Sounds like the kind of night out you love," noted Toby. He unfolded his arms and studied Paige as she shifted her weight and shuffled some papers on her desk. "Oh," he said, after a few minutes. "Paige, it's OK to feel some trepidation about seeing someone you used to be close to after an extended period of this time." He paused. "Especially if you didn't part on great terms."

Paige looked up at him and flashed a weak smile. She should have known Toby would figure out why she was so torn about seeing her old friend again. "Don't get me wrong, Toby," she began. "She was a great friend to me back in high school. Rachel was the only person who knew the truth about my mom and later she was there for me when my dad…" her voice hitched with emotion and she had to take a breath before continuing. "When my dad died."

Toby nodded understandingly. "So you feel you owe her your friendship, even though you had some kind of fight before she left for New York."

Paige shrugged. "It wasn't even a fight. We just drifted apart. I met Drew and had Ralph and…" she trailed off as she thought back to that time and the mixed emotions flared up like they always did. Of course having Ralph in her life was the best thing that ever happened to her, but sometimes she wished the circumstances had been different.

"Very few childhood friendships survive the transition to adulthood," Toby told her. "It's one thing hanging out in the mall, swooning over boy bands and promising you'll be besties forever when you're fifteen, but then real life hits you and things change. People change, don't blame yourself."

"I'm not blaming…" began Paige, but then she realised he was right. "We had all these dreams about going to New York together," she explained. "We used to sing all the time in school and then we'd sneak into clubs under-age and sing at open mic nights, or karaoke nights. She was always a better singer than me and it didn't matter, I was proud of her. Her voice attracted a lot of attention. She actually got a recording contract, just a one album deal on an indie label, but I was so excited for her. Then after I had Ralph…"

"Your social life became non-existent," Toby finished her sentence for her. "And she made it clear that she wasn't happy that you'd stopped hanging out with her."

Paige nodded. "I know she never liked Drew and she resented Ralph. I had to grow up so fast, Toby and Rachel didn't. Then when Drew left and I realised he wasn't coming back she was there for me again, I don't know how I would have got myself through those first few months without her, but I couldn't help feeling that somehow she was saying 'I told you so'."

"Are you sure you weren't projecting your own feelings about Drew onto her?" asked Toby.

Paige thought about his words for a minute before answering. "Maybe," she admitted finally. "I'd never thought about it like that before. I guess maybe I always knew deep down that he would leave me."

"So now she's coming back to town and it's stirring up all those old memories and you're not sure how to deal with them," Toby pointed out.

"It would be nice just to meet up with her again, maybe go for dinner somewhere, catch up on old times," explained Paige. "But she wants me to sing at her new club and… and I don't think I can do that, not in front of her, not after all this time."

"You have a fantastic voice," smiled Toby. "You'll do great!"

Paige shook her head. "She was always so competitive," she said. "When you're teenagers that kind of thing is normal though, right? Healthy competition, my dad used to call it. It didn't matter that she got a higher grade than me for a history assignment because I'd get a better grade than her in an English paper the week after. When we got older it was different. She got a job in a big department store while I was waiting tables in a backstreet diner. She would sing in clubs after work while I was stuck at home changing diapers. She had a string of amazing boyfriends that took her to fancy restaurants and knew how to treat her properly, while I…"

"While you had Drew," noted Toby, snidely.

Paige sighed. She often wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn't met Drew, but the thought of not having Ralph was just too much to bear and so she pushed it to the back of her mind. "Eventually she got offered her first residency at this amazing club in NYC and her life went in a different direction," Paige finished.

"While you got stuck with a bunch of geniuses, saving the world every day," said Toby.

Paige laughed. "And I wouldn't change a thing," she admitted. "But I had to struggle for years to get here. She's never had to struggle for anything in her life."

Toby folded his arms again and leaned in to make sure no one else heard him speak. "Jealousy is ugly on you, Paige," he said.

"I'm not jealous of her!" Paige hissed. Then she closed her eyes. "OK, maybe just a little," she admitted. "We've kept in touch by email since she left, but hers have basically just been a list of all the amazing things that have happened to her since the last email. So tell me how am I going to get over this jealousy before Friday so I have the guts to sing at her shiny new karaoke bar and not completely embarrass myself?"

"I suggest you focus on the song," offered Toby. "I don't think you care about winning do you. You just feel you have to prove something to Rachel."

Paige smiled. "I can't help feeling she's only asked me to sing so she can remind me how she's a much better singer. I don't need to win her stupid contest."

"Contest? What contest?" It was Walter. He had just walked into the garage and came straight over to her desk. Paige greeted him with a kiss. "Who is entering a contest?"

"And you thought Rachel was competitive," noted Toby, dryly.

"An old friend of mine is opening a new club and she's holding a karaoke contest on Friday," Paige explained.

"Excellent," Walter beamed. "You will win, of course."

"Walter, I don't think…" began Paige, but Walter wasn't listening.

"Are duets allowed? We should enter together," he continued. "I will choose a song that most closely matches our vocal ranges and…"

"What?" exclaimed Paige. "You want to enter a karaoke contest? You don't even like singing."

"That's not true," insisted Walter. "I have been researching the subject since you asked me to pay more attention to your interests. Besides, we've sung a duet before. The Elvis John number, don't you remember? I thought that was quite successful."

"Elton John," Paige corrected him. "And of course I remember, but we were only singing _Don't Go Breaking My Heart_ to distract an evil dictator so we could stop him carrying out his plans. This competition will be entirely different."

"I disagree," replied Walter in his usual blunt style. "We've already proved that our singing voices complement each other. I believe that now we are romantically involved our intimacy will only serve to heighten the experience."

"You want to sing a sultry little number with Paige?" asked Toby, not quite sure he was hearing this correctly. "On stage? In front of people?"

"I can tell by the tone of your voice that you don't think we can pull this off, Toby," sneered Walter. "I would have expected more support from a friend. In fact, I hope you and Happy will be there on Friday to cheer us on. We can double date. I'll go and select a song."

Without saying another word Walter ran up the stairs to the loft, leaving Paige and Toby speechless.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2.

"Double date?" exclaimed Happy. "And a karaoke contest? Is Walter feeling OK? Maybe you should give him a thorough check-up, Doc?" She poured herself another black coffee from the machine and glanced over her shoulder to the kitchen where Walter was deep in discussion with Paige.

"No, he was fully compos mentis," confirmed Toby. "As close to being mentally in control as One Ninety Seven ever gets, anyway."

"Can't we say we're busy on Friday?" suggested Happy, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Sorry, my beautiful wifey, but I already promised Paige we'd go," replied Toby. "She really wants to make a good impression on her old school pal and she's understandably nervous. So unless she can talk Walter out of the whole thing in the next fifty three and a half hours, we're spending Friday on a double-date with the new karaoke king."

Happy sighed. "Fine," she said, reluctantly. "Paige is going to need us for back up when it all goes embarrassingly wrong anyway."

"Ye of little faith," Toby responded. "When have you ever known Walter to put in any less than one hundred per cent effort when there's competition involved?"

"Toby, he's a genius, but he could have an IQ of five thousand and still have no rhythm," noted Happy.

Toby pursed his lips and ran over some of the possible outcomes in his mind. There was no denying it, he acknowledged to himself, there was a lot of potential for this to end in disaster. He suddenly wished the world was in danger so they'd have an excuse to cancel. "Paige is a good teacher," he said, optimistically.

Happy looked at him over the top of her coffee mug. "This is Walter O'Brien we're talking about," she said.

xXxXxXxXx

"Why don't you just come to bed?" Paige kicked off the sheet to reveal herself to Walter. She was wearing a silky nightshirt and she had been waiting for over an hour for him to join her. Ralph was spending the night with Toby and Happy so the mechanical genius could help him with a school project and Paige had hoped she and Walter would have taken the opportunity to spend a romantic evening together. Instead, much to her frustration, they'd been trying to decide on a song to sing.

"Ooh, here's another one," said Walter, completely ignoring her plea. " _I Just Can't Stop Loving You_ by Michael Jackson – whom, incidentally, I have heard of – and Siedah Garrett – whom I have not. The lyrics appear particularly appropriate for our relationship. Listen." Walter clicked a key on the laptop and the track started playing. He spun round to face Paige. "See? _I'm so proud to say I love you_." Walter repeated the line and smiled a goofy smile at Paige. "That's how I feel about you."

"Walter, that's so sweet," began Paige, unable to stay mad at him after such a heartfelt proclamation. "And I'm proud to say I love you too, but… but, you're not Michael Jackson. He was a unique talent."

"And I am also unique," Walter insisted. "I may not have the urge to grab my crotch as much as he did, if his music videos are anything to go by, but I can bring other skills to my performance."

"Walter, please, can we just do this in the morning?" asked Paige. It wasn't often that Walter said anything romantic and even though it had just been a song lyric it had only heightened Paige's desire for him. She sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth seductively and tugged at her nightshirt so it rode a little higher up her thigh. "Come to bed, Walter," she said.

"We don't have a lot of time before the contest," Walter pointed out. "I think it would be prudent if we… oh…" He suddenly realised what she wanted and felt a pang of guilt that he hadn't realised sooner. He longed for the day when he didn't have to work so hard at this kind of thing. He swallowed hard and a smile spread across his face. "Well, perhaps it could wait a while…" He crossed to the bed and perched on the edge next to her. "I meant what I said, you know," he added and he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "And I will be the proudest man in the world on Friday when we're singing on stage together," he added.

Paige sighed inwardly and realised there really was no getting out of the contest. Walter was determined that they were going to take part as a duet and she would just have to go along with it. Tomorrow she would start voice coaching Walter, but for now she just wanted to be close to him. She reached out and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I love you," she whispered.

Just then Walter's phone buzzed. Walter hung his head and let out a sigh. "I should get that, it might be important."

Paige reluctantly released him and lay back on the bed. Walter picked up his phone and frowned at the screen. "Hmmm," he said in a puzzled tone. "It's a text from Toby. It says 'Go to bed'."

Paige laughed. "He knows you too well, Walter. You should always follow doctor's orders, so get back here now!"

xXxXxXxXx

"Walter, Paige, I appreciate that you're practicing for the competition, but I have these equations to unravel and I can't do it with all that noise!" Sylvester covered his ears with his hands and scowled across the garage.

"May I suggest you take your laptop into the kitchen?" replied Walter. "We have very little rehearsal time left and those equations should only have taken you ten minutes at the most."

"I know, but I can't concentrate!" exclaimed Sylvester.

"Sly, I'm sorry," said Paige. "You stay at your desk, we'll go into the kitchen."

Walter was about to protest, but a glare from Paige made him realise it would be best if he kept his mouth shut this time. Reluctantly he followed Paige to the kitchen, where Happy, Toby and Cabe were eating sandwiches and poring over a case file.

"Look out, folks, it's Sonny and Cher," said Toby, rolling his eyes.

"Actually we ruled out _I Got You Babe_ ," responded Paige.

"You're really going with the Michael Jackson number?" Happy queried.

"Yes," Walter confirmed. "And Paige is an excellent singing teacher so I suspect we will have the song perfected in a couple more hours."

"A couple more hours!" exclaimed Happy. "You know, I've just remembered I have some engine parts to collect from the auction house, I'll be back later." Before Toby could try to stop his wife she had jumped on her motorbike and left the garage.

"Some people don't appreciate the work that goes into an artistic performance," said Walter, as he watched her go.

"Since when did you care about artistic performance?" asked Toby. "I thought you said art was a waste of time and energy."

"I may have said that in the past, but I have altered my opinion," Walter replied. "Besides, music, as an art form, is grounded in math. Look, this is the score for our song. See how the notes are mostly grouped in twos and fours except here and…" he picked up the second page of music before continuing, "…here, where there are groups of three notes. This requires the performers, Paige and myself in this case, to count three beats in the space of two. It's called a triplet."

"Genius with the fifth highest IQ ever recorded can count to two and three! I can see the headlines now!" exclaimed Toby, rolling his eyes.

"You know, if you were doing a good old Dolly and Kenny number there'd be none of this two and three nonsense," Cabe interjected.

"Dolly and who?" asked Walter.

"Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers!" exclaimed Cabe. "Don't tell me you've never heard _Islands in the Stream?_ " Cabe shook his head in disgust at Walter's blank look.

"Considering what we went through after the wedding I think an island is the last think Walt and Paige should be singing about," noted Toby.

"It's not about getting stranded on an island, Doc," retorted Cabe. "It's a metaphor, for being in love. And it's in simple four time so you can dance to it."

"If by dance you mean stepping to and fro with your thumbs hooked in your belt loops," Toby added.

Cabe frowned at him. "There's nothing wrong with a bit of line dancing, Doc," he replied.

Toby was just deciding whether he could push Cabe any further with another remark when they were interrupted by Paige's phone ringing.

"Oh, it's Rachel," said Paige, staring at the screen. She wanted to answer it, but a wave of panic had washed over her and she realised she had no idea what she was going to say to her old friend.

Toby snatched the phone from her hand and answered the call before Paige could stop him. "Paige Dineen's phone, this is Doctor Tobias M Curtis speaking, you've probably heard of me," he began.

Paige reached out to try and reclaim her phone, but Toby was having none of it and he batted her hand away. "I'm sorry, she's unavailable right now," he continued. "She's on our direct line to the White House. Yes, the White House…. yes… yes… she didn't tell you? We solve international crises for the government. We couldn't do it without her."

"Toby!" hissed Paige and she tried to grab the phone from him again, but he turned his back on her.

"I'll certainly pass on the message," said Toby. "I'm sure she won't be too much longer, but you know how it is when you're talking to the White House…oh, you don't? Sorry, we're just so used to it here at Scorpion. Thank you for calling. Bye now." Toby clicked off Paige's phone and handed it back to Paige.

"You didn't have to do that," she scowled at him. "I don't want to lie to her."

"It wasn't a lie, just a slightly bent truth," retorted Toby. "You have had occasion to call the White House in the past, just not today."

"I know, usually to get your asses out of trouble!" replied Paige, throwing her hands in the air.

"I just wanted her to understand what you've achieved here," replied Toby. "So now you don't have to feel like you have something to prove."

Paige sighed. "I guess," she mumbled, still unconvinced by his methods. "OK, well in that case, thank you, Toby."

"If you two have finished, Paige and I have work to do," said Walter getting to his feet and almost pulling Toby's chair out from under him.

"We'll leave you to it," said Cabe. "C'mon, Doc, let me teach you a few dance steps. You look like you could use the workout." Before Toby had chance to object, Cabe grabbed him by the shoulder and marched him out of the kitchen.

"Now, where were we?" asked Paige when they finally had some space to themselves. "Oh yes, you were trying to come in on time."

"I think you'll find I was coming in on time," replied Walter. "However, for reasons known only to Mr Jackson himself, he is behind the beat."

"It's called artistic interpretation," Paige responded, trying to keep the frustration from her voice. "The beat is there to guide you, but you don't have to keep strictly to time the whole time. Being a fraction off the beat is fine. That's how you convey the emotion of the song. It's the difference between a human singing it and a robot and, as we established a long time ago, you are not a robot."

"I see," Walter answered. He thought for a moment, trying to process what Paige had just said. "I need to listen to the track again and make notes."

Paige let out an exasperated sigh. "Can't you just feel it?" she asked. "This is a beautiful song and Michael Jackson sings it with such emotion…" She trailed off and tried to think of how she was going to explain this to him. "OK, so last night you said the lyrics meant something to you, right?"

"Yes," agreed Walter. "I was particularly drawn to the expression of love between the two parties. It reminds me of how I feel about you and, as you know, I don't always find it easy to put my feelings into words."

"I know," agreed Paige. "So when you're singing this song, think about how you feel about me. The emotion will come out in your singing."

"How?"

"I don't know how, it just does!" exclaimed Paige. "I'm sure there's a scientific explanation, but you can ask Toby about that later. Right now, I'm going to start the track again and I just want you to sing your part. Sing it to me, Walter. Tell me how you feel. Tell me you love me."

Paige turned to the laptop and reset the track. She was getting really scared for the contest now. Not only would she have to contend with seeing Rachel again and all the old memories it would stir up, she also had to contend with Walter and how disappointed she knew he was going to be when they didn't win, because she knew there was no way they were going to win. She just hoped he didn't humiliate himself, or her, too much in front of Rachel. She hit the 'Enter' key and the opening bars of the song started to play for the hundredth time that day.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3.

"It'll be OK, Paige."

"I wish I had your confidence, Toby." Paige was staring at herself in front of the mirror. "I look terrible. My eye make-up is too dark."

"Because the first thing your old friend – who hasn't seen you for eight years – is gonna say is 'Jeez, Paige, your eye make-up is too dark'!" Toby responded sarcastically.

Paige frowned at him. "No, she's going to say 'Jeez, Paige, I can't believe you once spent a week living in your car."

Toby sighed. "Paige, first of all she doesn't need to know about that, and second of all if she's a true friend she won't judge you because of things that happened in the past. She'll take one look at you and realise what a success you've made of your life now. You're raising a genius son, you keep this place running against the odds and you're deeply happy in a relationship."

Paige smiled. "Yes, yes I am," she replied.

"Now, just relax," Toby instructed. "Take a deep breath and enjoy catching up with Rachel this evening. You and Walt are actually sounding OK, so maybe the karaoke won't turn out as bad as you think."

"Are you guys coming or not?" Happy stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "If we're really doing this double date thing then Walt and I are gonna need our dates to actually come with us."

"Coming, darlin'!" Toby called out and he took Paige by the elbow. "We really shouldn't keep them waiting."

The drive across town to the karaoke club felt like the longest drive Paige had ever been on, even though it only took twenty minutes. Conversation during the journey was limited to Toby deliberately winding up Walter over one thing and another until Paige was forced to intervene, scolding them like a couple of naughty children.

Finally they arrived and Happy threw the car into a parking space. The club looked spectacular from the outside with a large flashing neon sign inviting people in and a whole host of balloons and ribbons advertising the opening gala. Paige wrapped her arm around Walter's and held him tightly as they walked up the steps. Rachel had asked them to get there a little early so they could talk before too many customers arrived. Walter introduced them all to the front desk clerk and he ticked their names off his list and ushered them through to the main bar area.

"Paige! Oh my god!"

Paige spun round at the sound of her name. "Rachel!" she exclaimed as a tall woman with tumbling blonde curls came running across the dancefloor, her high heels clattering on the wooden surface as she ran.

"I'm taking a guess here, but that must be Paige's old friend," Toby muttered in Happy's ear. "They don't call me a genius for nothing," he added. Happy hit him on the arm with the back of her hand. "Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Rachel, these are my dear friends, Toby and Happy," Paige began the introductions. "And this is my boyfriend, Walter."

Rachel smiled broadly as they all exchanged handshakes and kisses on the cheek. "I'm so glad you could all make it this evening," she said. "It's been so long since I saw Paige and…" she turned back to her old friend and hugged her. "I've missed you," she added.

Paige smiled and some of the anxiety she'd been feeling earlier started to wash away. "This place is amazing," she said. "You must have put a lot of hard work into it."

"And money," noted Rachel, raising her eyebrows. "Still, it's worth it to be back here in LA. Mom needs me close."

"How is she doing?" asked Paige.

"Oh, she has good days and bad days," replied Rachel. "She's on new meds, they seem to be better than the last ones so she has a lot more energy now."

"Miss Alessi, the speakers aren't working again."

Rachel abruptly spun round to see her young employee standing behind her. "What? She exclaimed. "I thought you fixed that?" 

"I did, but it must be a fuse or something," replied the man, with the apologetic expression on his face barely visible under his long, greasy hair.

"I can take a look at that for you?" offered Happy.

Rachel looked for confirmation from Paige, who nodded and smiled. "She's the smartest engineer in the world," she said.

"And she's married to me," added Toby, proudly.

"Ok, well, if you don't mind, I'd be very grateful," said Rachel. "It's this way." She walked off and Happy followed her.

"She's genuinely pleased to see you," Toby said when they were out of earshot.

Paige let out a slow breath, relieved to hear Toby's assurances. "And I'm pleased to see her," she replied. "I can't wait to sit down and talk properly."

"There's still plenty of time," noted Walter. "Let's find a table and I'll order some drinks. I believe warm honey and lemon is best for nurturing our singing voices, isn't that right, Toby?"

"Yes, or just water at room temperature," replied Toby.

Paige screwed up her nose at the thought of either of those two options. "I think I'll just have a Coke," said Paige. "I'm kind thirsty."

"Nerves," noted Toby.

"The processed sugar will constrict your vocal chords," stated Walter. "I'll see if they have any honey and lemon." He walked off towards the bar leaving Paige and Toby to find a table.

After a few minutes Walter was still waiting at the bar while the bartender searched for supplies. He waved across the room at Paige and Paige waved back, forcing a smile onto her lips. "I really just wanted a Coke," she mumbled through the fake smile.

Just then Toby's phone chirped into life. "That's Happy's tone," said Toby with a puzzled frown as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He unlocked it and a text message appeared on the screen… 'Doc, get back here. Bring Paige. It's Rachel.'

"What is it?" asked Paige with concern.

"Not sure, we'd better go find out," replied Toby and they both quickly left the table and ran backstage.

Happy greeted them with a worried look on her face. "Rachel's sick," she announced. "She's in here."

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Paige as Happy led them into a side room where Rachel was slumped on the floor, leaning against the wall and trembling vigorously.

Toby dropped to his knees beside her. She was pale and her breathing was shallow and rapid. "Rachel?" he called to her as he checked her pulse. "Rachel? It's Toby, Paige's friend, we just met. I'm a doctor, can you tell me what happened?"

"I'll call 911," said Paige.

"Just wait a second," said Toby and Paige glanced at Happy who was equally as confused as she was about her husband's instruction.

"I… I can't do this," panted Rachel.

"It's OK, you're OK," replied Toby as reassuringly as he could. He turned to Paige. "It's a panic attack," he explained.

"What? She doesn't get panic attacks?" replied Paige. "She sings in front of hundreds of people every night. I don't understand."

"I'll go back out there and cover for her," said Happy and Paige smiled thankfully as she left the room.

"Just try to slow your breathing down," Toby said and Paige sat back as Toby skilfully talked Rachel through the attack.

"Hey," said Paige when her old friend was in more of a state to talk. "What happened?"

Rachel took another deep breath. "It just came over me," she half whispered. "I've had so much to deal with lately."

"It's not the first time, is it," offered Toby and Rachel shook her head.

"I've been trying to keep up this stupid image, but…" Rachel trailed off, lacking the strength to complete her sentence.

"I can teach you a few tricks to get you through tonight, but you really should go to your doctor in the morning," said Toby sympathetically.

Rachel nodded. "It keeps happening more and more lately," she said. "I should have done something about it weeks ago, but I'm not used to asking anyone for help." Then she glanced at her watch and gasped. "I don't have time for this!" she exclaimed and struggled to her feet, despite Toby and Paige trying to stop her.

"Just stay here and talk to Toby for a few minutes, please," begged Paige. "I'll go out there and make sure everything is running smoothly, OK?"

Rachel nodded reluctantly. "Thank you," she said and hugged Paige again before she left the room.

"Is she OK?" asked Happy when Paige re-joined her and Walter at the table.

"She's fine, Toby's just going to stay with her for a while," Paige explained. She glanced around the room and realised that almost all the tables were full. "We really need to get this contest started or people will start to leave," she said and she walked off towards the stage to speak to the three judges who had taken their seats.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Happy asked Walter. "Karaoke in front of all these people, I mean?"

"Of course," replied Walter. "Paige and I are going to win this contest. Just take a look around you, I'm really not worried about the competition."

Happy glanced around the room and shrugged, not entirely sure what her boss meant by his dismissive comment, but she decided not to crush his hopes so she forced out a smile before Paige's voice took them by surprise.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Paige grabbed the microphone and pulled it closer to her mouth as she made the announcement. "Rachel Alessi will be slightly delayed, but she has asked me to start the karaoke!"

There was a huge cheer from the crowd. Paige glanced at the list of names she had taken from the front desk clerk and was relieved to see the first person had a name she could easily pronounce.

"So, without any further delay, please welcome our first contestant, Andrea Carlton!" Paige waited for Andrea to get up on stage before handing her the microphone. Then she ran back over to the table to sit with Walter and Happy. There was a slight delay while the sound engineer organised the correct backing track and then the competition began.

"Out of tune," said Walter once Andrea had sung the first few bars of her Whitney Houston number.

"Walter!" hissed Paige. "You can't be rude about the other contestants."

"I'm merely stating a fact," replied Walter and Paige shook her head in despair.

Paige acted as host for the next three contestants – a middle aged man, a younger woman and then a duo of sisters – neither of whom impressed Walter any more than Andrea had done. Finally, much to Paige's relief, Toby and Rachel reappeared and joined them at their table. Toby gave Paige a nod of reassurance as they sat down.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that," said Rachel. "It's a new thing. Toby's right, I need to see a doctor."

"It's OK, you don't have to apologise," replied Paige with a smile. "Anyway, the contest is going well. Are you OK to take over? I think Walter and I are on after the next one."

Rachel nodded. "I'm fine, thank you for covering for me." She headed back to the stage just as the sisters were finishing their song.

"We're up after this next guy," Paige told Walter. "Are you ready?" Part of her still wanted Walter to back out, but she knew he would never do that.

"He has a guitar," Walter noted, nodding towards the new act. "He should be disqualified, that defies the very principle of karaoke."

"Walt, just go sing your song," Happy snapped at him.

"Of course," replied Walter, calming down a little. "Perhaps we should go to the bathroom and warm up?"

"No time," replied Paige and she gulped down a mouthful of her lukewarm honey and lemon drink. "Come on," and she took Walter's hand and led him to the side of the stage to wait for their turn.

"Please may I be excused?" Happy whispered to Toby.

"There's no way I'm going to miss this!" replied Toby, so Happy sighed and stayed in her seat.

The man with the guitar finished his song and Rachel announced Paige and Walter. Toby leapt to his feet and cheered enthusiastically as they took their places. Happy wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

Paige glanced at Walter as they took their places and smiled. "Sing it to me," she whispered and he nodded as the opening bars of the song played.

The quality of Paige's performance came as no surprise to either Toby or Happy, but neither of them could quite believe it when Walter joined in. "Oh my god, he's actually good," hissed Happy after she'd got over the initial shock.

Toby nodded slowly as he tried to take in what he was hearing. "That man is full of surprises," he agreed and the two of them remained silent for the rest of the song.

Paige's voice blended beautifully with Walter's and the two of them sang in perfect harmony. During the final chorus, Walter instinctively reached out and took Paige's hand in his. " _I just can't stop loving you,_ " he sang, his voice cracking with emotion on the last word. Paige could feel her bottom lip quivering as she held her final note and the two of them fell into each other's arms as the music faded out.

Instantly Toby was on his feet again, but this time he wasn't the only one. Walter beamed and allowed the applause to wash over him. "This is my girlfriend," he said proudly into the microphone and smiling at Paige who shook her head with embarrassment.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4.

"Walter, we can't do this here!"

"Why not?" Walter kissed her passionately and started pulling at her blouse.

"Because we're in a closet!" exclaimed Paige, trying to push him away.

"Not for the first time," Walter reminded her, moving his mouth to her neck.

Paige couldn't help but laugh at his comment because it was true. She was on a high after their karaoke performance and she couldn't think straight. She couldn't even remember how she and Walter had ended up in the closet, but here they were and Walter was clearly desperate.

"Walter, I love you, but…" she began, but it was no good, she had nothing. She wanted this as much as he did and she ran her fingers through his short cropped hair as he began to kiss her again. She wrapped her left leg around him, sending a broom clattering to the floor, but neither of them noticed.

"Paige," he breathed and he fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, while at the same time refusing to take his lips from hers.

Paige moaned into his mouth and…

"There you are!"

"Toby!" Paige exclaimed as she and Walter both squinted at the sudden influx of artificial light which had filled the closet. Walter tried desperately to pull his shirt together across his chest and Page struggled to readjust her skirt with one hand, while trying to close the door again with the other, a sudden feeling of déjà vu washing over her.

"How… how did you know we were here?" asked Walter as Happy appeared behind her husband and rolled her eyes.

"You have previous," noted Toby with a mischievous grin.

"OK, you've proved your point, Doc," said Happy. "Now let's just give the lovebirds a minute to make themselves decent."

"Thank you, Happy," said Walter graciously.

"OK, but they're announcing the winner," said Toby.

"They are?" Suddenly Walter's eyes were wide and all thoughts of passion had gone. "Come on, we don't want to miss our moment." He ran past Toby and headed back to the stage.

"We don't know who's won yet," said Paige, but she knew it was in vain. Walter was convinced their performance had been better than anyone else's. She couldn't have been more pleased with how it had gone, but she knew it was all down to the judges to decide the winner. She followed Walter out of the closet, scowling at Toby on her way past. "Did we miss Rachel's performance?" she asked, deciding she would have to have another conversation with the psychiatrist about privacy and personal boundaries later.

"She decided not to sing," Toby explained. "Probably for the best, under the circumstances. She hasn't stopped talking about you and Walter, though."

Paige blushed with embarrassment. "I was dreading tonight, I was dreading seeing her again and having to watch her being successful at yet another thing," she smiled. "I guess I was wrong to feel that way. She's just the same as when we were kids. There's nothing wrong with a competitive streak is there."

Toby grinned. "Nothing at all," he confirmed.

"It's does feel as if it's only been eight days, not eight years since we last saw each other," added Paige. "C'mon, let's get back in there."

When they walked through the door Rachel already had the microphone in her hand. "Before we announce the winner I just want to thank my old friend, Paige Dineen, for starting off tonight's proceedings. Oh, here she is now."

Paige smiled and waved at the crowd before taking her seat at their table with the others.

"Thank you all for coming, I look forward to many more nights like this," continued Rachel and everyone applauded. "So, this is it. The winner of tonight's contest is…" she placed the microphone back in its holder while she opened the envelope she had been clutching in her hand. She read the winning name, smiled and picked up the microphone again. "I promise this isn't a fix," she began. "The winner is… are Paige Dineen and Walter O'Brien!" And Toby leapt to his feet for the third time that evening.

xXxXxXx

"You realise we're never going to hear the end of this." Sylvester sighed into his bowl of fruit flakes and watched Walter polish the karaoke trophy for the third time that morning. "How long before he wipes that smug grin off his face, Toby?"

"About five minutes, or I'll wipe it off for him," noted Happy, before her husband had a chance to answer.

"I'm sorry, guys, but please can we let Walter have this moment?" asked Paige, stifling a yawn. It had been late before the four of them had returned to the garage last night after celebrating their win and she and Walter hadn't exactly gone straight to sleep.

"Well, I'm proud of the both of you," said Cabe. "I'm just sorry I couldn't be there, but Allie already had the theatre tickets. OK, Happy, Sly, you two are with me. This job shouldn't take more than a couple of hours."

"I have some, um, some algorithms to finish," said Walter. "The events of last night were quite inspiring in that regard," he added, winking at Happy before running up to the loft.

Toby pulled Happy to one side as soon as he was out of sight. "OK, what was that about?" he asked.

"I can't tell you," replied Happy, realising that Walter's reference to 'algorithms' actually meant the song he had been writing for Paige. "I promised Walt."

"No fair!" exclaimed Toby.

"What isn't?" asked Cabe.

"Nothing. Drop it, Toby," said Happy, glaring at her husband.

"C'mon Happy, let's go," said Cabe. "Doc, I don't want to hear that you've caused any trouble for Paige while we're out. Is that clear?" 

"Yes, sir," replied Toby, with a mock salute. Cabe resisted the urge to react and instead left the garage with Sylvester and Happy.

"I spoke to Rachel earlier," Paige told Toby, grabbing herself a strong coffee from the machine. "She's going to take on a business partner. Someone she knows from New York. It should take some of the pressure off her and allow her to spend more time with her mom and run the karaoke bar too."

"I'm glad to hear it," smiled Toby.

"I thought she had this perfect life, Toby, but I guess you never truly know what some people are going through," replied Paige. "She told me her life has been like that old expression, you know, about being like a duck."

"Calm on the outside, but paddling like crazy underneath?" said Toby.

"Exactly," agreed Paige. "I only ever saw the calm exterior. I feel bad about the things I said now. I guess success comes with a lot of down sides."

"There are up sides to success, though," replied Toby, tipping his head towards the loft where Walter could actually be heard singing.

"He's not working on algorithms, is he," observed Paige.

Toby shook his head. "I doubt it," he replied. "But I get the feeling you should just let him get on with whatever he's up to."

Paige nodded. "Music is a powerful thing, Toby," she said. "And I couldn't be happier that Walter finally agrees with me."

"Let's go out for lunch!" Walter suddenly called down to her.

"But we only had breakfast an hour ago," replied Paige, laughing.

"Brunch, then," said Walter, rushing down the stairs. "Toby, I'm afraid this is a date and you're not invited."

"Walter!" exclaimed Paige.

"It's OK, I think I saw enough yesterday in that closet," replied Toby with a knowing grin. "Enjoy your brunch."

Walter almost skipped towards the door, but then he stopped in his tracks and ran back towards the shelf where he had left the karaoke trophy. He breathed on it and rubbed it with the sleeve of his shirt. Then he stepped back and admired it.

"Walter, let's go," urged Paige.

"Toby, if we should have another earthquake while we're out," Walter began.

"Don't worry, pal, I'll sacrifice myself to save your trophy," nodded Toby, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Thank you," replied Walter, earnestly. Then he caught Paige glaring at him. "I mean, save yourself, of course, but if you happen to pick up the trophy on the way out then that would be… appreciated."

Paige shook her head and made a silent promise to herself and to the team that she would not allow Walter to enter any more contests of any kind. Ever.

THE END.


End file.
